Political and Social Conflict in Local Deer Management

Overpopulation of any species, including white-tailed deer, has the potential to cause damage to ecosystems and social conflict. To solve the problem of overabundant deer and prevent it from recurring, communities must work together to come to a solution. However, deer management is highly contentious and provokes deeply held emotions among many different groups of people. The different underlying conceptual frameworks that motivate the various participants and how these frameworks lead groups of participants to conflict with each other were analyzed in order to understand why deer management in Iowa City is such a controversial issue.